


Voice for You

by RuskaSky



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: AU, Bonding, Coming Out, Drama, Fanboy Prompto, Friendship, Humor, Initially strangers, M/M, Nompto, Prompto has the hots for Noctis, Questioning of Sexual Orientation, Rock Band, Romance, Slice of Life, University, University Life, Unresolved Tension, alternative universe, lots of fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-10
Updated: 2017-04-10
Packaged: 2018-10-17 11:07:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10592730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RuskaSky/pseuds/RuskaSky
Summary: Noctis stood right in front of him. If he tried, he could count the noiret’s eyelashes, or at least take an educated guess. His idol, probably the hottest man alive, lead singer of a band which was sure to skyrocket through the records, just addressed him.In which Prompto gets propelled into a life and company he never would have dared dream of - and of which he can never get enough.[Rated for the final chapters; I repeat, explicit scenes will not occur until the very final chapters.]





	

**Author's Note:**

> If you're interested which song Noctis sings at the beginning, it's "Field of View" by his Japanese voice actor Tatsuhisa Suzuki.  
> And immeasurable thanks to my beloved beta reader NagareboshiStar - without her, you would not read this. Like, ever. So, cheers~

The music thundered in his ears and Prompto was not sure how much more they could take. A wise person would retreat, away from the speaker roaring into his organs with a force that vibrated through his entire body and rumbled in his guts. But apparently, Prompto was not such a wise person; at least he would do hell but give up on this perfect spot.

For just three steps away, _he_ sang. Jet black hair, bright blue eyes and a voice to die for – Noctis Caelum. He _screamed_ into the microphone in front of his maddeningly fast moving lips, his lean fingers struck the strings of his crimson guitar, poured his soul into the final song of this live which was way too short. They always were.

" _Come at me and put your pride on the line- half-hearted plays are never gonna cut it!"_

He threw his head back for the shortest of breaths, sweat glistening on his nose, and Prompto captured it with a push of his finger. The _click-whurr_ of his camera could not possibly be heard above the rumbling bass, mad drums and most of all the shrieks and calls all around him. Some girl could not contain her excitement and almost toppled him over, but Prompto was used to these occurrences, more so with _VersusXIII_ , so he just straightened his posture, the optical viewfinder of his camera always close to his eyes so he would miss none of the movements which captured him deep to the bone.

Noctis wet his lips in a brief pause and grinned at the crowd which screamed his name. Some items flew towards the stage – some of them underpants, or so Prompto believed – and the raven-haired singer chuckled darkly, directly into the microphone and the hearts of his fans, before the next set of lines poured from his lips.

" _I'll increase my skills and level up, I'll take myself to the next stage-"_

Prompto's finger pushed almost every odd second. Lucky enough for him, he had bought an even bigger storage a few days ago, otherwise the thousand odd pictures he had captured during the course of this thirty minute concert would never fit. But he had to capture those moments, every single one – Noctis smiling in the small breaks between lines, Noctis leaning on the stand of his microphone, Noctis hanging his head low for a complicated riff, he needed all of them. All of them. His head spun, had spun for a few minutes now, but maybe that was due to him singing his lungs out, his voice drowned in the calls and chants encircling him. He was one of, what, three hundred? four hundred? Too many people for this bar, way too many, but neither the owners nor _VersusXIII_ nor their fans cared.

He tried to inhale during the drum solo, but the air was so hot it burned his lungs and Prompto gasped. Noctis did, too, as far as he could see, and he focused his Gilgamesh FF-15 on the sight, narrowed his eyes-

\- and received a blow in his ribs. The blond panted and pressed against the person pushing and stabbing into his rather slender body. For a second, he even forgot to listen to the final, strong lines of text Noctis sang, and thought, _'The downsides to concerts. Other fans.'_ He swallowed his sigh and captured the moment _after_ the moment he had planned on capturing, the closing notes of their song resonating with his blood, thrumming in his ears, and he joined for the collective howl of disappointment when Noctis announced that their concert was now, after the second reprise, over.

The noiret singer laughed. When he did not sing, his voice sounded slightly different; a bit lighter. "Now, now, everyone. We really appreciate it, but look, specs needs go home for his beauty sleep, Cor's old man hands are probably dead tired, and Gladio back there has a puddle of sweat beneath him – won't you guys grant him that shower?"

A few calls, unidentifiable beneath all the others, but Noctis seemed to understand them nonetheless. "What, Gladio should take off his pants right here and now? Come on, guys, that's something _I_ don't wanna see." His reply were whistles and swooning cries. "Honestly, though, thank you so much for tonight! We had a blast! We'll try and take it easy over the summer break, so probably not that many concerts coming your way – but hey!" He had to nearly shout into his microphone over the frustrated sighs. "We promise to get back to you with new songs to make up for it! Don't forget about us 'til then." His band members lined up next to him, four men suiting all tastes and desires, bowing before the people who adored them. Prompto felt blessed just being able to watch them, to scream his passion out, to whistle with two fingers in his dry mouth.

But today was exceptionally special, for as the lights dimmed and _VersusXIII_ retreated to the backstage area, Prompto was allowed to follow via a special corridor, where a team of journalists from his university awaited him. With him in tow they entered and made for a room of gold and red, specifically furnished for the occasion with a ridiculously long sofa. The band members were still in the bath- or changing room, so Prompto had enough time to take the journalist to the side. The young woman with a pixie cut beamed at him.

"Thank you so much for lending a hand, Prompto! Writing and publishing the monthly paper is hard enough on its own besides studying, but our department has not a single photographer." She sighed and shook her head, fists stemmed into her slender hips. "Seriously, is there any paper out there without a single picture in between the articles?" But the aspiring journalist did not wait for an answer and bubbled on, "So you really saved us when you agreed to take _VersusXIII'_ s photos during the concert. You're an angel!"

Prompto laughed his light laugh and waved with his hand. "Nah, don't say that until you see how the pics turned out. But I'm glad I could help you out; you know I'm a fan myself. Anywho, wanna take a peek, Stella?"

The sound of a door opening behind them had her shake her head. "I'd love to, but I guess there's no time. We're in your care during the interview as well. And don't worry, we told _VersusXIII_ you'd be snapping shots, so get as up close and personal as you can. Especially to Noct; he's a fan favorite."

Of _course_ he was. Prompto did not even need to look at the noiret, who had just entered and now plonked down in the middle of the couch, to know why. His own stomach went up in admiring butterflies at his sight – and he was a perfectly straight guy. There was a completely incoherent lump in his throat. He swallowed it down and gave Stella a smile. "Alrighty. I'll snap you as many pics as I can get. Don't mind me sitting on your lap or somethin', tho."

The brunette chuckled and slapped his arm before she retreated for a final make up check to her assistant. Although still a student at the Art University Insomnia – or _AUI_ – just like Prompto, she took her passion and field of study serious enough to work on it besides her studies. Prompto admired people like that; and coincidentally, _VersusXIII_ were just that. A four man rock band founded at the beginning of the year by _AUI_ students. They had crashed the scene and every girl's wet dream in a matter of weeks and developed a solid fan base some professional bands wished for.

Their recipe to success? That was Stella's area of interest for this specific interview, but Prompto could not listen to their answers properly. His heartbeat thundered in his ears as he, after a few full body shots, moved in closer to the band to capture their expressions. Noctis' sly smirk, Ignis' readjustment of his glasses, Noctis leaning his face against the palm of his right hand, Gladio's wide grin, Noctis slapping Ignis arm at a joke or something, Cor with his crossed arms and serious expression, Noctis' brief wink. He got all of the shots and more, enough to add to his personal – and, by now, embarrassingly broad – collection, and yet Prompto continued to creep closer, try wilder angles, with one, two, three, four members of the band. _Click-whurr, click-whurr, click-whurr_. He was so used to the sound of his camera, but for the others, it must have been invasive.

The interview ended after a short fifteen minutes. Stella's smile was professional, but Prompto recognized the satisfied flicker in her green eyes and knew it had gone well. With a chuckle he got up from his kneeling position, which had yielded him a rather motion packed result, and browsed through the last set of pictures. There was the occasional blurry image, but by now, Prompto's hands were steady enough most of the time – and he made up for the loss by snapping as quickly and repeatedly as he could. Sometimes, a human's expression could change within a split second, and those were the most noteworthy moments.

But when a voice he would recognize even in his sleep sounded behind him, those steady hands jumped. "Hey, photographer?"

Prompto managed to turn, but nothing more. Noctis stood _right in front of him_. If he tried, he could count the noiret's eyelashes, or at least take an educated guess. His idol, probably the hottest man alive, lead singer of a band which was sure to skyrocket through the records, just addressed _him_.

' _Answer,'_ he realized belatedly, _'I gotta answer,'_ but his mouth was as dry as the desert or something equally cliché so he just nodded, camera trembling in his hands.

Noctis motioned back at the other three band members still on the sofa. "D'you want us to strike some pose or something? Final pic for the article, perhaps?"

How did one breathe? It had seemed so _easy_ before, but Prompto's lungs refused to take in the air, his throat a sudden cage. Again, all he managed was to nod, to drag his feet after Noctis who strut back to his band and sat down in the middle. A few jests and sloppy movements before arms curled around shoulders and ankles were propped on the knees.

"Alright," Noctis chimed and smiled at the camera, at _Prompto_ , "ready when you are."

At least photographing still worked. Prompto prayed the photos would turn out well, because his eyes refused to focus. He did not even issue commands for certain poses because he was pretty sure his voice would crack.

Why? He did not know.

After a few shots, he got back up and nodded at _VersusXIII_ , tried to ignore that he was as close to his favorite band as he could possibly get, unless they decided to hold a fan-meeting or something, and in this very moment, Prompto doubted his ability to actually attend one even if it were to occur. With a blush creeping up his neck and cheeks, he wondered, _'Why the heck am I so nervous?'_

It was not like he had never interacted with bands before. Before one concert from the _Balamb Souls_ , it had just so happened that he ran into the members on the street and he had asked for a group selfie ere his mind actually processed what was going on – even though _their_ lead singer had a constant death glare in his steel blue eyes. But Prompto had asked, and received a photo which was now taped to his closet and made him smile every morning. Just like the snapshot he had scored with Cloud from _Midgar's Comet_ during an autograph session. He never failed to take opportunities, it was the kind of man Prompto was.

But with _VersusXIII_ directly in front of him, looking at him with expectant eyes, all he managed was to nod once more and give a thumbs up.

Noctis frowned. One could barely see it beneath the messy fringe threatening his eyes like tiny spears, but Prompto saw and his heart skipped a beat – and one more when the singer jumped to his feet and approached him. "That's it?" he asked with a light smile. "No more pics or poses you need?"

' _Answer,'_ Prompto yelled at himself, but suddenly a lump blocked his throat. He opened his mouth once, twice, looked like an absolute idiot, saw how the frown reappeared on Noctis' face.

' _Shit.'_

"'scuse me," he squeaked miserably, turned on his heel and fled with a bright red face.

* * *

He tried to forget that embarrassing moment. He really did. But even after two months of summer break in the hole of Canaan with his parents, he still broke into a mad flush when he listened to _VersusXIII_ on his music player or phone. It did not help that they studied at the same university, so even though they had never crossed paths so far, there was no guarantee they would not, and Prompto was fairly certain he would make just as much a fool out of himself again.

Prompto slapped his cheeks. _'Enough of that moping about. New term! New classes! New opportunities!'_ He nodded thrice at his new-found mantra and checked the room on his schedule – and groaned. As far off as it could get. All that effort for an extra class from the free block; but it had the most promising description and went at least _somewhat_ in the direction of his general studies. Alright, maybe 'photography' and 'introduction to web design' were not close relatives, but no polar opposites, either, like apiculture would have been. A faint part of Prompto wondered who in their right minds would spent time with bees for extra classes. _'I mean, they're undeniably cute – on photos.'_ He tapped against his trustworthy camera. _'But being so close they might sting? Nah, thanks.'_ Irrespective from the fact that the AUI was, as the name unmistakably suggested, an institution for _arts_ , and Prompto would never understand _why_ they offered _apiculture_ classes in the first place. Maybe some sort of collaboration with the biology faculty from the medical college a few kilometers westwards. Who knew.

He jogged the last bit and mentally waved goodbye to the chocolate bun he had intended on buying beforehand. But maybe it was better that way; he _still_ had some stretch marks on his lower belly, and by now he doubted they would ever fade. _'Suits me well for having eaten like a glutton.'_ His cyan eyes scanned the classroom once he finally reached it, the tidy rows of untidy students and their disgruntled Monday morning faces. Some seats were taken, but not all, and Prompto situated himself somewhere in the middle. Too far front and you became the teacher's pet – too far in the back, and coming to class made no sense anymore. He unpacked his bag and set up his laptop, a rather relic device which, miraculously, still did the job. An update was a dire necessity, but ever since he started university, all his pocket and part-time job money flew into equipment for photography. And as long as the decrepit computer still ran photoshop at a decent pace…

Some murmurs to his right inspired Prompto to tear his eyes off the awfully slow booting screen – and he froze.

Noctis. Fucking. Caelum.

' _Am I dreaming?'_ the blond thought in a haze. As discreetly as possible – and most likely not very discreetly at all – he rubbed first the one, then the other eye. Nope, Noctis still stood there, at the other end of the room, and his eyes burned bright enough for a shudder to run down Prompto's spine. _'Oh shit. He's gonna see me.'_ Immediately, Prompto hid himself behind the illuminating screen of his helpless device. _'I mean, it's not like he's gonna remember me or anything. That guy probably has photographers around him twenty-four seven. No, no, I'm the only one who remembers this, definitely the only one, please, let me be the only one-'_

"Yo."

Prompto stiffened. _'No.'_ He turned his head, felt like an old lady with very brittle bones, or maybe like a buff guy who had strained his neck too far during workout. Noctis stood right next to him. Prompto squeaked.

Definitely an old lady.

"Hm?" he somehow pressed forth and wondered whether his hair sat right. _'Please, say you're asking whether this seat's free or not, please, I can't live with the embarrassment, I'm too young to commit suicide…'_

"Is the seat free?" Noctis asked and pointed at said furniture item with one casual finger from his gloved hand. The left one, his trademark.

Shit, he had to reply somehow. Prompto retched something that might eventually possibly maybe pass for an affirmative gag. And Noctis-Fucking-Caelum sat down next to him. Prompto broke into a nervous sweat and willed his eyes to his locked screen. Password, typing a password. Very casual, very normal, not in the least nervous or with hasty fingers and eyes which could not keep to their effing focus.

' _Wh-what do I do?'_ he pondered and tried to gulp down saliva except there was none. _'Small talk? About what, the weather? This room doesn't even have windows! Which is, by the way, extremely unheal-'_

"Do you know if there's an end of term exam in this class? Or do we have to hand in a project or something?"

' _Why is he talking to me?!'_ Prompto regretted that there were no windows – it impeded his desperate wish to jump from one. "U-uh, dunno," he mumbled into his non-existent beard and hoped the low volume made up for his lack of sense, "didn't read the course regulations yet."

"Shame." Noctis clicked his tongue. "Well, we'll find out soon enough – unless that geezer's as late as the rest of the lot." The noiret leaned back in his chair and took out his stuff, among it a laptop which looked like it was the grand-grand-grand-grand-grand-son of Prompto's model, with wealthy parents and generous aunts.

The blond exhaled shakily. _'At least he doesn't seem to remember me. Lucky. But, wait, that doesn't change the fact that_ _Noctis_ _is sitting right next to me! For an entire term? I gotta be dreaming, definitely...'_ At least the singer did not address Prompto any further, although this did little to help his agitated jittering. The people around them whispered. Prompto let his head hang low. _'They recognize him. Of course they do. He has an army of fans who'd die to sit next to him, so why me~?'_

He did not even know why he was so uncomfortable, but he _was_ , and very hot to boot, his fingers a trembling mess and his breath precariously close to a marathon runner's. Did he have the jitters? Because of a fairly famous singer? Prompto shook his head at himself. _'Not like me at all...'_ For usually, he would break into a triumphant dance and ask for a hundred pictures and more, for an autograph, a fan sign, a hug. But with Noctis… With Noctis, it was different.

"By the way, do you have any more of those photos?"

Prompto jumped in his seat. This time, his head whipped around and he could not help but stare and stutter, "Wh-what photos?"

"You know, from the concert. I thought about gathering some in an album." Noctis leaned over and stage-whispered, "it's Ignis' birthday and I've got no idea what to gift him – that guy has _everything_. And getting him coffee _again_? Nah, not gonna cut it." He looked at Prompto for a moment, who still stared like a child at Christmas, just a bit more panicky – maybe like a child at the dentist who explained that they now had to put welded metal into its mouth which would tear and pull horrifically at its poor teeth to make place for more of those fuckers. "What," the singer said and grinned lopsidedly, "thought I didn't recognize you?"

"Ah," Prompto made and jerked, like his ass found no comfortable place anymore on this mediocre seat. "I, uh, no, I mean, yes, I thought you might… Er, the photos," he repeated to calm his mind. It failed. Finally, his screen blinked and Prompto dragged the cursor across the screen. "D'you've, like, a USB flash drive? I should have most of them on my hard drive, the photos, I mean."

"Sure." Noctis was already fumbling in his backpack, quite an ordinary black thing, when Prompto realized with hot iron in his guts that the folder containing pictures from said concert could present a proud _one-thousand three-hundred and twenty-one_ pictures.

"Got it!" Noctis triumphed and handed over a small stick in the form of a car. Prompto hesitated to receive it, but not taking it would be impolite, so he pushed the thing into his laptop. Well. He _tried_ to. But somehow, no matter which way he turned it, the device would not fit. The blond whimpered mentally and had to force himself for one calming, deep breath, before the car and laptop decided to click.

Then, he remembered. _'I have an extra folder from that concert with the best photos!'_ He did that with most of the concerts or events he attended, but his flabbergasted mind had retained those information up until now. _'There can't be more than two hundred inside. It will be enough for Noctis and his album.'_ So he redirected his cursor and, with a few clicks, dragged and copied the folder onto the flash drive by the flashy name of _Regalia_. He was proud how his fingers had stopped trembling.

"Lemme see," Noctis said and peered over his shoulder. Prompto forget how existing worked; luckily enough, his body could govern those function without much brain activity. The singer's scent clouded him subtly. Alright. Maybe not Noctis' innate smell, for in order to sniff that, Prompto would have to get as close as to his armpits. But what he _did_ smell was the noiret's cologne, a citrus composition of bergamot, lime and a sandalwood base note, his crisp body wash and the minty whiff of toothpaste. All in all a pleasant, clean smell, and Prompto found himself closing his eyes and inhaling, just for a second, before Noctis' elbow bumped on his shoulder as the man looked at his screen. "Hoo," he made, "that's a lot. Come to think of it, you were all over us during the interview as well. You're quite the passionate photographer, hm?"

"Y-yeah," Prompto said, and even in one and a half syllables, his voice managed to fail pathetically. He ejected the device – snickering internally at the weak association – and put it on Noctis' table. "There you go." He tried to melt into the ground and disappear, but said ground was not as merciful.

The singer leaned away and Prompto felt a numb void where his elbow had been. While he tried to make sense of the situation, rather unsuccessfully, Noctis checked up on the data he had just received. "Hmm," the raven-haired man hummed, "quite a few pics of _me_. Dunno if Ignis will dig them – then again, he doesn't have much of a choice," he chuckled.

Prompto's ears exploded. "S-sorry," he stumbled over his words, and he really had to stop with that, it made him appear like an _idiot_ , "that's just the photos which turned out the wellest and-" He stopped. _'The_ _wellest_ _? Oh, fuck, did I just say that? God, I know I never talked to you, but better late than never: Send a comet. A very, very small one, just for me and my stupidity.'_

Noctis was gracious enough not to comment on that – even though Prompto was sure to spot the hint of a smirk in the corners of those lips. "Well, they _are_ nice. I'm sure that- oh, look, a wild Ignis appeared," he laughed at a close up from Ignis at his bass. "Great shot. I might use that as the front cover. You got talent, Prompto."

The blond stiffened. His blue eyes widened. "You… know my name?"

"Well, sure. Last name's 'Argentum', right?" Noctis broke his gaze from his laptop and sent him another of those lop-sided smiles. "I wanted to talk to you some after the shoot, but you were gone before I got the chance."

Prompto smiled, or grimaced, he was not really sure; his face felt too numb to tell. Inside his mind, several voices roared at each other with the force of a great typhoon.

' _He remembered my name!'_

' _Means he also remembered how you royally embarrassed yourself, you twit.'_

' _R-right… But still, he remembered me! And he said I got talent!'_ That voice was the loudest, humming happily at the back of his skull, and Prompto could not help the retarded smile which spread his lips.

"So~rry for making you wait, dear pupils." The voice originated from their teacher, though Prompto had to stop and wonder whether that rather extravagantly walking man with the black fedora could really pass as a teacher. Yet as the man stepped behind the lecturer's desk and fumbled with the computer there, his doubts were flung away. "But with us being forced to perform in this fairly remote chamber, my tardiness could not be helped much, I am afraid. Well then," he interjected himself and smiled, an expression which only intensified his strong facial features, "shall we begin? The art of web design is an intricate one, and your goal is to create your very own to hand in by the end of the term."

' _Great,'_ Prompto thought with a suppressed groan. He did not even dare cast a glance at his electronic device; it might explode just from that. _'No matter what, my next pay check goes into funds for a new laptop.'_

Some other students murmured complaints or worries, but their instructor – a certain Ardyn Izunia – raised his hand and chuckled with a baritone that thundered through the room. "Now, now, I know it might appear an overwhelming task at first, this being an introductory class, but fret not; with my guidance, you will fare just fine. Oh, and your partner will be of help as well, of course."

Prompto blinked. _'Partner?'_ he echoed internally, overly aware of the singer next to him who listened with his chin and cheek in one palm. And all the gazes directed at him.

Ardyn nodded several times, most likely to the voices inside his head (Prompto suspected him to be _that_ type of guy) and said, "I will assign pairs randomly." Some students protested, but suddenly, something in Ardyn's expression changed and his amber eyes hardened to the point where the revolt died down before it had even begun. Prompto felt relieved; with random pairs, his chances of working together with Noctis were near to non-existent.

"Very well," Ardyn commenced and opened the list of participants on his computer, "I can check attendance like this as well. Noctis Caelum?"

Next to him, the noiret raised his free hand. "Here." Around them, some girls broke into squeals, but Noctis just smirked into his palm without a turn of his head.

"Good," Ardyn chimed and, after checking off a little box next to his name, scrolled through the list of a rough forty students. "I will pair you with… Prompto Argentum?"

Another set of noises, this time a mixture of envy and disappointment, but Prompto's ears roared with the sound of his own blood. _'Me? What?'_ A nudge in his side, from none other than Noctis, and the blond jerked and raised his hand. "H-here!" he called and wanted to shrink under Ardyn's gaze.

The teacher smiled. "Very well. Pair number one is established, then – and you even sit next to one another! How very convenient." He continued to assign pairs, but Prompto could not really follow that, nor the rest of the class.

All he knew was that Noctis-Fucking-Caelum gave him an energetic thumbs up and grin, and something in his guts turned and coiled while his head zoned out. He would never survive the term.

**Author's Note:**

> It's up! A lot earlier than I had planned to, but if I wait much longer, I'll probably doubt it and chuck the whole project - so, there you go, first chapter of this university AU. It's a little change from the smut I usually misuse the two of them for (if you're interested in that, check out my 'Taste the Sweet of my Skin' series of unrelated Nompto smut-shots) and gives me the chance to plot a bit while enjoying a relaxed slice-of-life feel. There will be the occasional drama, of course, but mainly, it will be a story about two guys slowly falling in love with one another and all the sweet, adorable scenes which come along with that.
> 
> Fair warning here: I have no idea about music nor photographing. Any detailed scenes will be written with the utmost care and research, but if I mess things up, don't be too harsh on me; I try to focus on the relationships and character development.
> 
> If you liked what you read so far or have any suggestions for future chapters, please, PLEASE leave a comment. Even two words make my day and encourage me to write that much faster. Until then~


End file.
